Sam Loover
Samuel William Loover was born in Flagstaff which lies in the heart of the Arizona desert. His parents were by no means affluent but they were able to provide a stable home and gave their son plenty of room to live a happy childhood as well as helping him to focus on a goal in life, his father, William Loover, worked hard and ensured his son would develop a worthwhile career. Being brought up in an environment like the Arizona desert ensured the young Loover would develop a hardened outlook and become accustomed to the "harsh realities" that nature and life could inflict unforgivingly. He became an expert hunter, angler, while also excelling at all outdoor activities one associates with the "all American boy". The boy was at home in the wild, rough land and this kind of grounding was to set him up for what fate had carved for his future. At 10 he was sent to Phoenix to one of Arizona’s most renowned technical school, which proved to be a milestone in his life, having been used to a local junior school. At this early age, Loover studied electronic engineering in the hope that his basic training in this field would yield a place at America’s technological institute at Stanford. City life was quite unnatural for Loover, who had known only the wide open spaces of tumbling sand and the odd wooden building; this left him feeling rather condemned in a concrete jungle. Stifled by the man-made complexity of concrete and steel, Loover continued his studies, forced on by the hidden goal of success which he coveted so much for himself but even more for his family. Loover's driving urge to achieve his goal was stimulated at the age of 13, his mother was killed in a freak sand storm that devastated Flagstaff. A bitter blow for the close family, and now the teenage adolescent was torn between two evils; return home to his father and relinquish his new bonds with his chosen engineering career, or to carry on and materialize his father’s dream. He chose the latter. Five years further study and Loover's vocational training in Phoenix was realized. He received a top scholarship grant to Stanford, having gained outstanding results in electronics, engineering and dynamics. Back home his father had become dangerously ill. Doctors gave William Loover an even chance of survival. The news of his son’s achievements succeeded where all medicine had failed in promoting a quick and complete recovery, all symptoms had abated. After a long and deserved vacation with his father, Loover returned to city life, taking up his elected position at Stanford University to study electronics. It was during this advanced education that he met a young Englishman and fellow electronics student in his first year, Ian McClaine. A man who was to have a great bearing on his later career. These two men became great friends, deepening further over the next year when they were on vacation in Loover's home-town and the Arizona desert was ready to play it's hand on behalf of the Grim Reaper. During that summer, Ian McClaine was dabbling in aerodynamic experiments and had built a balloon that he piloted from Phoenix to Flagstaff. Three days out a freak storm blew up, forcing the balloon violently off course over a rocky uninhabitable part of the desert. The balloon was struck by lightning which forced him to make a crash landing on jagged rocks, miles from anywhere, the impact braking his leg. Lost and injured McClaine decided to crawl in no particular direction - it was stray or stay! Undefended and at the mercy of the elements he summoned his courage and set out on the long journey, a journey to disaster. Three hundred miles east, Loover feared for the fate of his friend. Sensing danger, he set out in search of his friend. After five days alone in that merciless desert, searching, hoping and praying day he found his friend, lying in a small depression in the sand. McCliane's leg was broken in three places and he was suffering from extreme exposure and exhasution. It was touch and go whether or not the two would make it home alive, but with guts and determination they did. A four-month stay in hospital righted the wrongs that the desert had inflicted. McClaine left hospital mended, with a stimulated friendship, and an even greater love for balloons. Back in their studios, the now inseparable team of Loover and McClaine set to work. It was a partnership that was not to be broken until Graduation Day. With grade "A" passes in electronics for Loover and McClaine, they split and followed their own careers. Ian McClaine went back to England while Sam Loover progressed to a high position with the American government. The partnership would be brought together 15 years later, the day Loover was best man at McClaine's wedding. For Sam Loover a dream had been realized. He was immediately snapped up by the American government for a position within the module of Cape Kennedy, dealing with the electronic aspects of security on the base. From here he worked his way rapidly up through the ranks. His brilliant application of his subject revealed true genius. Combining his academic brilliance in electronics with his flare and initiative for security. The results were dynamic and, within a short period of time, Loover had revolutionized the security aspects of Cape Kennedy, making it an impregnable fortress. It took Sam Loover just five years to establish himself at the Cape. Promotion upon promotion unsued; becoming chief security officer at the government establishment, and soon promoted to security controller for the Western block of the States. He was finally enrolled as Chief Security Adviser to the Secretary for Defence of the United States of America. Sam Loover held this position for just 12 months, for it was an unsung tradition that the US Defence Secretary was also the head and brains behind the C.I.A. When the C.I.A. merged with other Western secret service organisations in 1974, Secretary Calloway was appointed as Supreme Head of the World Intelligence Network and his first action was to enrol the services of Loover as his number one operative agent. Loover was skeptical at first, but realised the potential it may offer. An ideal situation in which to employ his amazing prowess, achieved through his country upbringing and hard study. Loover accepted the challenge. Sam Loover never looked back, it was an ideal situation which blended their talents, released their energy to one common cause. Operating as W.I.N.’s top secret agent, Sam Loover’s record book read like a fictitious spy novel. His daring deeds, quick-thinking and superb judgement and initiative made him master of his trade. For security reasons, none of his exploits as an active agent can be revealed. But recognition was granted in the right places, and after 15 years of active service with the U.S. Head Office in Washington, Loover was promoted to Deputy Head of the London Office attached to W.I.N. In England, he was reunited with his old friend, Ian McClaine. It was four years later upon the creation of the B.I.G.R.A.T. that the partnership was reformed, with Loover and McClaine working together with one sole aim. As Deputy Head of W.I.N.’s London system, Sam Loover took complete charge of agent’s operations, combining three staff divisions into one. Though reducing his own field work to a minimum, Sam Loover is the mastermind behind most of the greatest achievements of the World Intelligence Network. McClaine and Loover.jpg|Loover (r.) Trivia *The Sam Loover puppet previously appeared in Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons where it was used as a Doctor, Supreme Commander of Earth Forces, the Lunar Controller'', Doctor Denton,'' Rhodes, President Roberts and Colgan. OT-Doctor.png|Doctor (Operation Time) Supreme_Commander_of_Earth_Forces.png|Supreme Commander of Earth Forces (Point 783) Lunar_Controller.png|Lunar Controller (Lunarville 7) Doctor_Denton.png|Doctor Denton (Place of Angels) Rhodes.png|Rhodes (Noose of Ice ) President_Roberts.png| President Roberts (The Launching) Colgan.png|Colgan (The Inquisition) Category:Joe 90 Characters